It seems like the most romantic idea of all: organising your special day on an equally special date.
A team of Australian researchers may have you question that decision after a study compared divorce rates to ‘special days’ and found some decidedly unromantic results.
Marriages that fell on special dates such as Valentines Day were found to be 18 to 36 per cent more likely to end in divorce than those held on regular days.
The study conducted by a team at the University of Melbourne also included significant dates such as 9/9/99 or 1/2/03.
Professor David Ribar who authored the report alongside Dr Jan Kabatek said special date weddings were preferred among a certain type of couple.
“People who got married on special dates were more likely to have been married before and more likely to have children already,” he said.
Professor Ribar said those who married on regular days were found to be influenced more so by their overall compatibility.
“Couples who marry on ordinary dates may be more strongly influenced by characteristics of their relationships and their compatibility than couples who marry on special dates,” he said.
The determining factor behind the research may therefore be less about the date and more about what that date says about the couple.
Fellow author Dr Kabatek said those who married on unique dates were also more likely to have greater personal differences.
“We also found that spouses who married on special dates were less alike, in terms of education and ages, than spouses who married on ordinary dates,” he said.
It was also found that women were more likely to be pregnant at their wedding if it fell on February 14.
“We also found that brides who married on Valentine’s Day were more likely to be pregnant on their wedding day than those who married on ordinary dates,” he said.
There’s never been a better time to be boring.
